Illuminated safety helmet



Dec. 12, 19 67 M. D- SINCLAIR ETAL 3,358,137

' ILLUMINATED SAFETY HELMET v Filed NOV. 22, 1965 INVENTOR-5 ANDREW 5?FHA 55/? B WWJM A 7- TORNE KS MALCOLM .D. 57/vcLA/R- United StatesPatent 3,358,137 ILLUMINATED SAFETY HELMET Malcolm D. Sinclair andAndrew S. Fraser, both Sinclair-Fraser Corp., 900 New York Bldg, St.Paul, Minn. 55101 Filed Nov. 22, 1965, Ser. No. 509,124 Claims. (Cl.2406tl) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A safety helmet for industrial useand the like having a light conducting portion adjacent the upperextremity extending 360 about the periphery and a light source withrechargeable batteries mounted so that light is transmitted directlythrough said light conducting portion of the helmet in an approximately360 are about the helmet. The helmet is constructed so that the outersurface forms a substantially continuous contour from one edge to theother to prevent obstructions from striking a direct blow on the helmet.

The present invention pertains to an illuminated safety helmet and moreparticularly to a helmet having an illuminated portion with a lightsource and energizing unit completely contained within the helmet andthe illuminated portion blending with the remainder of the helmet tomain the safety features and the structural strength thereof.

Many types of warning devices have been adapted for use with hats or thelike in prior art but all of these devices are mounted on the 'outersurface of the hat and form a broken or irregular contour. Because ofthis irregular contour these hats are not useful as safety helmets sincemoving objects have a tendency to catch thereon and the full force of ablow is directed toward the hat. Also, in prior art devices theenergizing means for the light sources are mounted exteriorly of the hatand require Wires or the like to transmit the power to the light source.These wires are a great handicap to a person who is wearing the hat andattempting to do some work. Also, there is much inconvenience toremoving the hat and the energization source when the wearer wishes todo so.

In the present invention a helmet is disclosed which is constructed of arigid material and has a smooth and continuous contour from the edgesthereof. The upper portion of the helmet is constructed of a lightconducting material which has a high impact strength. Because the helmethas a smooth continuous contour the helmet reacts to moving objects andother blows in a fashion desirable for safety helmets by causing suchobjects and blows to glance off the smooth surface and, therefore,produce very little shock to the wearer.

A light source and energizing means are completely contained within thehelmet and, therefore, there are no external wires or the like toinconvenience the wearer. The light source is generally of the typewhich provides a blinking action to draw immediate attention to thewearer. Also, the energizing means may be rechargeable batteries or thelike with connecting means on the helmet to provide for recharging ofthe batteries without dismantling the helmet. Since this helmet may beutilized in a number of different situations, such as policemendirecting traffic, school children directing trafiic, highway workers,etc., it is desirable to have various colors of illumination, such asyellow, amber, red, etc. In the present invention either the lightconducting material at the upper portion of the helmet or the lightsource itself may be tinted to provide any desirable color ofillumination.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improvedilluminated safety helmet.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide anilluminated safety helmet having a smooth and continuous contour.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide anilluminated safety helmet having the light source and energizing meanscompletely contained within the helmet.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide anilluminated safety helmet having rechargeable energizing means for thelight source whereby the energizing means can be recharged withoutdismantling the helmet.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent to thoseskilled in the art upon consideration of the accompanying specification,claims, and drawings.

Referring to the drawings, wherein like characters indicate like partsthroughout the figures:

FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation of the present device, parts thereofbroken away and shown in sections;

FIG. 2 is a view in top plan of the present device slightly reduced insize;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detailed view of the upper portion of the presentdevice taken from FIG. 2, parts thereof broken away and shown insection;

FIG. 4 is a view in front elevation of the present device, parts thereofbroken away and shown in section; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the electrical circuitry used in thepresent device.

In the figures the numeral 10 generally designates a helmet completelyconstructed of rigid material which is capable of withstanding highimpacts from foreign ob jects. The helmet 10 has a lower edge 11 andextends upwardly therefrom in a smooth continuous contour. An extremeupper portion, designated 12, is constructed of light conductingmaterial and may be transparent, translucent, etc. The remainder of thehelmet 10, which is designated 13, joins the light conducting portion 12at a juncture 14. The portion 12 of the helmet 10 and the portion 13 maybe formed from the same material and constructed as an integral piece orthey may be constructed of different material and bonded together insome manner, such as welding, fusion, etc., well known to those skilledin the art. In this embodiment the helmet 10 is slightly elongated alongthe vertical axis so that it is shaped somewhat similar to a portion ofan ellipsoid rather than a portion of a sphere. However, this shape isutilized for convenience in explanation and it should be understood thatvarious shapes might be utilized depending upon the size of thecomponents, to be describedpresently, and the characteristics of thelight conducting material 12. In any event it should be understood thatthe outer contour of the helmet 10 is smooth and continuous so that anyforeign objects striking the surface thereof will be deflected.

The light source and energizing unit, generally designated 20, includesa housing 21, a plurality of rechargeable batteries 22 and a light bulb23. The light bulb 23 is a type commercially available with apparatusbuilt in for periodically blinking or de-energizing the bulb 23. Thebatteries 22 are preferably of the rechargeable type and the number andvoltage thereof will depend upon the light bulb 23 associated therewith.The housing 21 is constructed of a lower substantially circular portion24- and a mating cover 25 which slidably engages the lower portion 24and clamps the components therein substantially immovable. The lightbulb 23 is mounted substantially centrally within the cover 25 so thatthe glass portion and filament thereof extend above the cover 25. Theupper surface of the cover 25 may be coated with a reflective materialto decrease the amount of light absorbed thereby. Also, if it is desiredthe cover 25 may be curved slightly upwardly to increase the a amount oflight which is directed outwardly to the side of the helmet 10. Theopening containing the batteries 22 in the housing 21 is substantiallyrectangular shaped and the arcuate outer edges 26 are filled with alight plastic material or the like to aid in the prevention of movementof the other components therein.

The entire unit is mounted with the upper surface of the coversubstantially in a plane with the juncture 14. The unit 29 is mounted bymeans of a shoulder 30 extending around the inner periphery of thehelmet 10 and forming a circular opening with an inner diametersubstantially equal to the outer diameter of the housing 21. Theshoulder 30 may be constructed as an integral portion of the helmet 19or may be attached in some fashion after the helmet It) is constructed.A plurality of lugs 31 are fixedly attached onto the lower surface ofthe shoulder 30 by some means such as screws 32 or the like so that theyoverlap the inner edges of the shoulder 30 and lock the housing 21fixedly in place. In some instances it might be desirable to make thehousing 21 slightly concave at the upper surface and the lower surfaceto increase the amount of light reflected outwardly to the side of thehelmet 10 and to allow slightly more room within the helmet 10 below thehousing 21. It should, therefore, be understood that the presentembodiment of the light source and energizing unit 20 could be variedconsiderably and still be within the scope of this invention.

A schematic diagram for the electrical circuitry is illustrated in FIG.5. In FIG. 5 one side of the light bulb 23 is connected to one side ofthe batteries 22 at a junction 35. The other side of the batteries 22 isconnected to one side of a plug 36 at a junction 37. The other side ofthe plug 36 is connected to the junction 35. The plug 36 is utilized toattach a charging unit to the batteries 22 to recharge the batteries 22after long periods of use. The plug 36 is shown mounted at one side ofthe helmet 10 with a rotatably mounted cover 38 positioned thereover toprotect the plug 36 from water and the like. When the plug 36 is to beutilized the cover 38 is rotated upwardly, as illustrated in dottedlines in FIG. 1, and a mating plug is inserted into the plug 36.Referring again to FIG. 5, one side of a switch 39 is connected to thejunction 37 and the other side is connected to the unconnected side ofthe light bulb 23. In the illustrations the switch 39 is mountedadjacent the plug 36 and is utilized to manually energize or de-energizethe light bulb 23. It should be understood that the plug 36 and switch39 are mounted on the outer surface of the helmet 10 in theillustrations but they might be mounted within the hat or in any of avariety of places.

Harness means 40 are mounted within the helmet 10 in the usual manner toprevent a wearers head from contacting the helmet. In the presentembodiment the helmet 10 is elongated somewhat in the vertical directionso that the distance between the harness means 40 and the light sourceand energizing unit 20 is sufficient to prevent the wearers head fromstriking the unit 20 even though the helmet 10 is struck sharply with aforeign object.

Thus, a greatly improved illuminated safety helmet has been describedwhich produces a blinking light that can be seen at all angles from thehelmet so that the wearer will be quickly not-iced by motorists and thelike. The outer contour of the helmet is smooth and continuous so thatthe helmet deflects all objects which strike it and, therefore, protectsthe wearer from flying or falling objects and harmful blows from othersources. In addition, the present helmet can be quickly dismantled formaintenance and repair and means are provided whereby the batteries 22can be recharged quickly and easily without dismantling the helmet.

While we have shown and described a specific embodiment of thisinvention, further modification and improvements will occur to thoseskilled in the art. We desire it to be understood, therefore, that thisinvention is not limited to the particular form shown and we intend inthe appended claims to cover all modifications which do not depart fromthe spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An illuminated safety helmet comprising:

(a) a helmet constructed of a rigid material so that the outer surfacethereof forms a smooth, substantially continuous contour from one edgeto the other;

(b) a portion of said helmet being light conducting, said portion beingadjacent the upper extremity and extending approximately 360 about theperiphery of said helmet;

(c) harness means within said helmet for receiving the upper portion ofa head therein and positioning the head within said helmet tosubstantially prevent the head from contacting the helmet; and

(d) a light source including a rechargeable battery mounted within thehelmet for transmitting light through said light conducting portion ofsaid helmet to an area encircling said helmet, said rechargeable batteryhaving outlet means attached thereto for operatively attaching arecharging source of energy thereto without removing the battery fromthe helmet, said light source being positioned so that there Will be nocontact with a head positioned in said harness means.

2. An illuminated safety helmet substantially as set forth in claim 1wherein the light source includes means for automatically, periodicallyenergizing and de-energizing said source and switch means for manuallyenergizing and de-energizing said source.

3. An illuminated safety helmet substantially as set forth in claim 1wherein the light source is removably mounted for replacement ofcomponents.

4. An illuminated safety helmet substantially as set forth in claim 1wherein the light source has an associated housing having a surfaceadjacent the light conducting portion of said helmet which surface has areflective coating which is curved toward said portion.

5. An illuminated safety helmet including:

[ a) a helmet constructed of a rigid material and formed so that theouter surface thereof has a smooth, substantially continuous contourfrom one edge to the other;

(b) a portion of said helmet adjacent the upper extremity thereof beinglight conducting, said light conducting poition extending about theperiphery of said helmet sufliciently so that light transmittedtherethrough is perceptible in approximately a 360 are about saidhelmet;

(c) a light source removably fitted within said helmet so as to transmitlight through said light conducting portion and so there wiil be nocontact of the source with a head correctly positioned in said helmet,said light source including:

(1) a unitary, battery pack having a substantially flat form andremovably positioned in said helmet to form a generally horizontalsmooth wall which divides said helmet into an upper chamber and a lowerhead receiving cavity, said light conducting portion of said helmetconstituting a portion of the Walls of said upper chamber,

(2) said unitary pack containing a light bulb socket operativelyconnected to the battery and positioned so that a light bulb engagedtherein will transmit light into said upper chamber and through saidlight conducting portion of said helmet, and

(3) a light bulb engaged in said socket.

(References on following page) 5 6 References Cited 2,971,082 2/1961Frank 2406.4 2,978,696 4/1961 Keller et a1. 24059 UNITED STATES PATENTS2,995,695 8/1961 Reich 240-105 2,320,222 5/1943 Crupi 24060 2 473 394 51949 Scott 240....60 5 NORTON ANSHER, Przmary Exammer.

2,943,186 6/1960 Weiss DAVID L. JACOBSON, Assistant Examiner.

1. AN ILLUMINATED SAFETY HELMET COMPRISING: (A) A HELMET CONSTRUCTED OFA RIGID MATERIAL SO THAT THE OUTER SURFACE THEREOF FORMS A SMOOTH,SUBSTANTIALLY CONTINUOUS CONTOUR FROM ONE EDGE TO THE OTHER; (B) APORTION OF SAID HELMET BEING LIGHT CONDUCTING, SAID PORTION BEINGADJACENT THE UPPER EXTREMITY AND EXTENDING APPROXIMATELY 360* ABOUT THEPERIPHERY OF SAID HELMET; (C) HARNESS MEANS WITHIN SAID HELMENT FORRECEIVING THE UPPER PORTION OF A HEAD THEREIN AND POSITIONING THE HEADWITHIN SAID HELMET TO SUBSTANTIALLY PREVENT THE HEAD FROM CONTACTING THEHELMET; AND (D) A LIGHT SOURCE INCLUDING A RECHARGEABLE BATTERY MOUNTEDWITHIN THE HELMET FOR TRANSMITTIG LIGHT THROUGH AND LIGHT CONDUCTINGPORTION OF SAID HELMET TO AN AREA ENCIRCLING SAID HELMET, SAIDRECHARGEABLE BATTERY HAVING OUTLET MEANS ATTACHED THERETO FOROPERATIVELY ATTACHING A RECHARGING SOURCE OF ENERGY THERETO WITHOUTREMOVING THE BATTERY FROM THE HELMET, SAID LIGHT SOURCE BEING POSITIONEDSO THAT THERE WILL BE NO CONTACT A HEAD POSITIONED IN SAID HARNESSMEANS.